Issues and Insights
This page provides links to recent articles, reports and announcements relating to transportation policy, legislation and research. The entries are drawn from a wide range of sources, including national newspapers, magazines and websites. If you come across interesting transportation reading that might deserve posting here, let us know at [email protected]
Adviser Sheds Light on Biden Transportation Policy
Resiliency” is the Biden buzzword. A top adviser to President-elect Joe Biden gave a tiny glimpse at where transportation policy may start heading after Jan. 20, but he left more question unanswered than answered.
Feds to (Finally) Explore Drunk Driving Prevention Tech
Streetsblog Nov. 16, 2020, - America’s top safety agency is finally exploring new vehicle technology that could end the impaired driving epidemic for good — and advocates say we need to make it mandatory on all new cars, despite political hurdles.
How Covid-19 Is Changing Mobility In A Way No Technology Ever Could
Forbes, Nov. 13, 2020 - Mobility has been undergoing one of the most exciting transitions of recent memory. Technologies such as autonomous driving, digitalization and battery electric technologies are converging, not only with each other, but concurrently with societal trends like sharing and sustainability. Although most of those working in this industry did not have a 100% clear view on the timing, volume, and impact these technologies would have, Covid-19 has brought everyone ‘back to the table’ examining the one thing that is more important than any of the above – behavior!
‘Aye, AI, captain.’ IBM’s autonomous ship seeks to revolutionise modern transport
Irish Times, Nov. 12, 2020 - Some 400 years ago a ship called the Mayflower – commanded by one Christopher Jones and with 102 passengers and 20 crew aboard – made the hazardous crossing from Plymouth on the south coast of England, to Plymouth on the east coast of Massachusetts, USA...IBM wants its modern-day Mayflower Autonomous Vessel to complete the crossing in 12 days with not a single human aboard.
On the Rocky Road to Zero Emissions, Make Room for the Hummer E V
CityLab, October,30, 2020 - For those who don’t remember, the first incarnation of the Hummer, a line of trucks and SUVs sold by General Motors from 1992 to 2008, represented perhaps the fullest expression of the term “car culture” — enormous, expensive, gas-guzzling, and made famous by wars in the Middle East. The GMC Hummer EV, the rebooted version of the brand revealed last week, preserves most of those elements. It’s enormous and expensive, but it uses battery power in place of gasoline.
Car sales rise and car-share companies boom as pandemic upends transportation
Guardian, Aug. 13, 2020 - Since the coronavirus pandemic first hit the United States, many people who previously relied on buses, subways or ride-hailing services are opting for other ways to travel to avoid sharing space – and germs – with strangers. As public transportation and ride-hailing companies see deep cuts in their profits, car sales are on the rise. The pandemic could also ultimately benefit vehicle sharing companies like Gig, Turo and Zipcar, said Maite Bezerra, an analyst at the global tech market advisory ABI Research.
Who needs a car? Electric unicycles among new forms of micro urban transportation
Vancouver Sun, Sept. 27, 2020 -Saville’s electric unicycle is one of the new kind of vehicles appearing more and more on streets, bike lanes and sometimes sidewalks in the region. In the last decade, they’ve been joined by a whole range of new vehicles that include electric bicycles, electric skateboards with one and two wheels, electric scooters, and electric hoverboards.
Will Trump let congestion pricing happen?
Cityandstateny.com, 8/13/20 - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority could really do with an extra $1 billion right about now. The MTA expects to face a $16 billion shortfall through 2024, and that’s on top of long-neglected infrastructure modernization needs that congestion pricing was supposed to fund with $1 billion per year in revenue from tolling drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street at peak times. But any hopes of the state’s congestion pricing plan delivering that kind of dough have been dashed for the foreseeable future.